Safety ski binding



Feb. 16, 19 54 M FL 2,669,459

SAFETY SKI BINDING Filed Sept. 2, 1950 INVENTOR J0 46 MYRON r. FLEMING41 aquxzbda ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 16, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICESAFETY SKI BINDING Myron T. Fleming, Wyncote, Pa.

Application September 2, 1950, Serial No. 182,997

8 Claims.

This invention relates to ski bindings and, more particularly, to skibindings designed to lessen the danger of injuries to the skier.

In skiing, it is important that the boot of the skier be firmly bound tothe ski so that it will not come loose during normal skiing conditions,and yet be sufficiently free at the heel to permit a slight amount ofvertical movement for ease in touring or executing turns or figures. The

conventional ski is equipped with a binding de-- vice, such as a toestrap or a spring cable, which holds the skiers boot securely in placeat the toe while permitting slight freedom at the heel, and is adaptedto be released only by hand. This secure binding of the boot to the ski,however, results in frequent leg and foot injuries, because, when a falloccurs, the skier is usually catapulted over the front of the ski, andhis legs, ankles, or feet are subjected to severe twisting action whenthe toe of the ski runner digs into the snow.

One form of device intended to remedy this condition is disclosed inPatent No. 2,491,485, and consists of a plate to which the ski boot issecured and which, in turn, is operably secured at its forward end tothe ski by a releasable hinge clamp that will automatically release theski runner from the boot plate when a predetermined amount of abnormaltwisting strain is encountered. It will be noted, however, that thisdevice, and others of a type now known, depend on the force applied as aresult of a fall to free the boot. Frequently, however, that force firstacts against the limb of the skier and injures him before it becomessufiiciently strong to actuate the mechanism and release the boot. Thedifdcult problem in all of these prior automatic release devices isadjusting the spring tension so that it gives proper control in normalskiing while at the same time is loose enough to come free before severeinjury occurs.

It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide a skibinding that will effectively secure the ski boot to the ski so that itwill not come free under the most rigorous conditions of skiing, butwhich is automatically and easily releasable to prevent injury in theevent of a fall.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide a noveland improved ski binding in which the binding is automatically releasedby means of a trigger mechanism that is tripped by the change in theangle formed by the skiers leg and the surface of the ski.

Other objects will become apparent as the description proceeds.

Embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a ski equipped with the skibinding mechanism embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the construction illustrated in Fig. l

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail side elevation showing the construction ofthe trigger release clamp shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail side elevation showing the trigger releaseclamp in released position;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail side elevation showing a modification ofthe trigger release clamp of Fig. l with a portion broken away;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a modification of the present invention inwhich the trigger release clamp is behind the ski boot or on the rearportion of the ski; and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail cross-section of the trigger release clampshown in Fig. 6.

The preferred embodiment of this invention, illustrated in Figs. 1-4,comprises a ski It, a toe plate ll mounted conventionally thereon andhaving a recessed portion I 2 adapted to receive the toe of a ski bootI3, a trigger release clamp l4 mounted on ski ID in front of toe plateH, a spring cable I5 adapted to fit around the-heel of boot I3 with itsends attached to trigger release clamp l4, and a release cable I 6 alsoattached to trigger release clamp M.

The trigger release clamp of this preferred embodiment not only servesto lock the ski tightly to the skiers boot, but is provided with meansfor its automatic release when the angle formed between the front of theskiers leg and the front of the ski is increased slightly.

As best shown in Fig. 3, the trigger release clamp comprises a lockinglever H which is pivotally attached at It to a supporting base [9 on skiIt, and a trigger member 20 which is pivoted at its center to lever I!at El. Trigger member 20 has a lower portion 22 for locking engagementunder a catch 23 on base i9 and an upper portion 24 to which releasecable it is attached. Spring cable I5 is attached to lever I! at 21 sothat when lever ll is pushed forward and downward the leg 22 has engagedcatch 23 to lock the ski on the boot, the point of attachment 2! isabove pivot I8 and the pull exerted by spring cable l5 holds the partsin locked position.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, spring cable 15 is preferably provided withan enlarged spring portion 29 designed to fit snugly around the heel ofski boot l3. A portion of spring cable i5 is preferably held below thetop surface of ski H3 in any convenient way as by lugs 28 projectingoutwardly from each side of the ski. This exerts an extra tension on thespring cable and thus limits longitudinal and vertical movement of theheel of the boot with respect to the ski. Where desired, these lugs mayalso project slightly above the surface of ski it: to prevent lateralmovement of the boot toe.

The free end of release cable i6 is attached around the skiers ankle inany suitable manner, as by the aid of a loop 3%. Where desired, however,loop 39 may be dispensed with, and cable l6 may extend around the skiersankle and the free end may be clipped to itself in front of the V ankle.

Release cable I6 is adjustable and may be of any suitable material, butshould preferably be slightly resilient to permit normal movement of theskiers leg. It may be made of leather, rope, or a fabric tube encasing atightly coiled spring.

Loop 3? is also adjustable and may likewise be of any suitable material,such as leather or rope, and should preferably be of flat cross-sectionso as to rest comfortably around the skiers ankle.

While trigger member 20 has been shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4 as asomewhat Z-shaped member, it will be obvious that it may be convenientlymade of a straight member having a dog or lug at the bottom end toengage catch 23, as shown in Fig. 5.

To use a ski equipped with the safety binding of this preferredembodiment of the invention,

the toe of a skiers boot i3 is inserted into recess l2 of toe plate Hwith lever i'l' in its up, or released, position (as shownin Fig. 4.).Spring cable 45 is placed around the heel of boot it, enlarged springportion 29 being placed immediately adjacent the heel (as best shown inFig. 2), and lever i! is pressed forwardly and downwardly until lowerportion 22 of trigger member 29 engages catch 22. By proper adjustment,spring cable is made just long enough to firmly hold the toe of boot [3in recess l2 when lever l! is in its down or forward position andtrigger it! is engaged with catch 23. The pull exerted by spring cableI5 keeps trigger 2G in firm engagement with catch 23.

' This firm binding permits sufficient vertical movement of the heel ofboot it so that the ski has proper maneuverability, but at the same timeholds the toe firmly in place so the ski will not come loose even underthe most rigorous skiing conditions.

As previously mentioned, when a fall occurs, the skier is usuallycatapulted over the front of the skis. As the skier is thrown forward inthe air, the normal 96 angle formed by the front of the skiers leg andthe surface of the front of the ski is enlarged and this pulls releasecable iii which, in turn, actuates trigger member 2i! and disengages itslower portion '22 from catch 23. Since lever ii is thus released, springcable it pulls it upwardly releasing the pressure which holds the toe ofboot 53 in toe plate I i and leaves the ski free to drop off. All ofthis action takes place before there is any strain or abnormal force onthe skiers ankle, leg, or knee; hence, as the skier falls, injuries ofthis type are eliminated.

It will be obvious that release cable 55 may be attached totrigger 20 inany convenient wa as by a pin-in-slot device (not shown) which will,after release of trigger 20 from catch 23; disengage itself so that theskier is thereafter completely free of the ski. Another method ofachieving this desirable object is shown in Fig. 5 in which triggerrelease clamp i4 comprises lever ll which has a depressed portion 3| atone end which is placed under a pivot bar 32 on base IS, theaforementioned pull of spring cable l5 against the restraint of catch 23holding the depressed portion 3| in contact with bar 32 and thuseffectively holding the parts in locked position. Release of catch 23'as previously described, permits spring cabl l5 to pull lever ll upwardand backward, and depressed portion 3| disengages itself from pivot bar32.

In the modification of the invention shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the triggerrelease clamp is mounted at the rear of the boot and comprises a ski in,a toe plate ll having a recessed portion l2 to receive the toe of a skiboot it, as in the preferred embodiment. A side plate so is mounted oneach side of ski IE! just behind recessed portion l2 and extendssufficiently above the surface of the ski to firmly hold the toe of booti3 against lateral movement. Longitudinal movement of the boot isnormally prevented by a U-shaped heel holder ll controlled by a triggerreiease clamp 22, and a release bar 43.

As in the preferred embodiment, the trigger release clamp serves to lockthe ski tightly to the skiers boot and also has means for its automaticrelease when the angle formed between the rear of the skiers leg and therear of the ski is decreased.

As best shown in Fig. 7, trigger release clamp d2 comprises an L-shapedrocker arm id pivoted at 55 on a base 8 mounted on ski Iii behind bootIS, a spring-tensioned connecting link 47 whose ends are pivoted,respectively, at 48 to the end of rocker arm i4 nearest the heel and toheel holder ii, and a trigger member 59 pivoted to release bar 43 andadapted to rest under the other end 5| of rocker arm 44 when in lockedposition.

Release bar 43 is pivoted to a lug 52 on ski Iii and its opposite end isadapted to rest against the back of a skiers leg and be movable thereby.The upper end of release bar 43 is preferably tipped with a head orballor bar G9 to prevent injury.

Trigger member to is housed in a supporting bracket 53 on ski IE!between base 46 and lug 52, and is preferably a sleeve-like structurecontaining a tension spring be which holds a detent or trigger 55 inextended position underlying end SI of rocker arm M when in lockedposition.

The connecting link il comprises a sleeve 55 and a plunger 5'! which areheld in operative engagement by a spring 58 housed in, the sleeve andoperating against a plug til and the end of plunger El. The forward endof plug 6% is threaded to permit adjustment of sleeve 55 to increase ordecrease the tension under which heel clamp 41 holds boot !3 inposition.

An alternative method (not shown) of adjusting the tension under whichconnecting link 4'! holds heel clamp 4! against boot i3 is one in whichbase 46, supporting rocker arm 5-4, is adjustable forwardly andrearwardly on ski Hi. It is also obvious that base 46, supportingbracket 53, and lug 52 may be mounted on a unit base (not shown), andthat unit base attached to the rear surface of the ski in any desiredmanner.

The pivotal connection of link A! to both heel holder 41 and rocker arm44 permits sufficient vertical movement of the heel of boot I3 to makethe ski completely maneuverable.

To use a ski equipped with this modification, the toe of boot i3 isinserted into recess l2 of toe plate H with rocker arm 44 in itsreleased.

a the boot when the normal 90 position. Heel holder 4| is placed aroundthe heel of boot I3 and the pivoted end of rocker arm 44 is pusheddownwardly and forwardly, raising end 5| and pushing boot 13 into firmengagement in recess 12', until end 5| of rocker arm 44 slides upwardlypast detent 55. The upper portion of end 5! and the lower portion ofdetent 55 are preferably curved for easy slide engagement in order thatthe upward movement of end 5! may force detent 55 backward against thepressure of spring 54 until end 5| has cleared the end of detent 55.When pressure on detent 55 is released, it snaps into position below end5! and locks the entire assembly.

When a fall occurs, the increase of the angle formed by the front of theskiers leg and the front of the ski results in a corresponding decreaseof the angle formed by the back of the leg and the rear of the ski. Asthis occurs, the back of the leg pushes release bar 43 backward,withdrawing detent 55 from under end 5! of rocker arm 44, and permittingrocker arm 44 to rotate rearwardly on pivot 45. This pulls connectinglink 47 and heel holder 4! backward and away from the heel of boot l3,permitting instant and complete release of boot [3' from the ski l0.

As in the case of the preferred embodiment, this action occurs beforeany strains or abnormal forces act against the skiers leg and thusremoves any danger of injury in this respect.

Trigger release clamps l4 and 42 should be made of steel or othersuitable metal and be corrosion resistant because of the wet conditionsto which they will be subjected.

The devices of this invention may be secured to wooden or metal skis inany conventional way and may be mounted on any style of ski.

It will thus be seen that the present invention provides an improvedsafety ski binding which holds the ski boot firmly to the ski until afall occurs. In such case, the slightest pull is sufficient to trip thetrigger mechanism. There is no powerful tension force to overcome priorto the release of the boot as is the case in other known ski bindings.This minimizes, almost completely, the danger of injury to a skierslimbs. The release cable of the preferred embodiment may be adjusted totrip the trigger and release angle formed by the front of the skiers legand the front of the ski is increased to 100. Likewise, the release barmechanism of the alternative embodiment may be set to release the bootwhen that correspondin angle is decreased to 80.

It is apparent that many widely different embodiments of this inventioncan be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof; and,therefore, it is not intended to be limited except as indicated in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A safety ski binding comprising a ski, a toe plate mounted thereonand having a recessed portion to receive the toe of a ski boot, atrigger release clamp mounted on the surface of the ski outside the areanormally covered by a ski boot, a spring-tensioned holding deviceextending from one end of the said trigger release clamp around the heelof the boot, and means connected to said trigger release clamp andextending in the vicinity of the skiers ankle for transmitting motionfrom the skiers ankle to the trigger release clamp when the angle formedbetween the skiers leg and the front surface of the ski is increasedthus actuating the trigger to release the ski, said means being mountedentirely above the surface of the ski and outside the area thereofnormally covered by a ski boot.

2. The safety ski binding of claim 1 in which the trigger release clampis mounted on the front portion of the ski and the means fortransmitting motion is a cable connected to the trigger release at oneend and to the skiers ankle at the opposite end.

3. The safety ski binding of claim 2 in which the trigger release clampcomprises a forwardly extending lever, a trigger member pivotallyconnected theerto, and a stationary catch to receive and hold thetrigger member until a pull is exerted against it.

4. The safety ski binding of claim 1 in which the trigger release clampis mounted on the rear portion of the ski and the means for transmittingmotion is a bar mounted behind the ski boot.

5. The safety ski binding of claim 4 in which the bar mounted behind theski boot is pivotally attached at one end to said ski and extendsupwardly and forwardly from the ski to the back of the skiers leg, saidbar being intermediately attached to the trigger release clamp.

6. The safety ski binding of claim 5 in which the trigger release clampcomprises a rocker arm mounted on the ski, a heel holder, aspringtensioned connecting link pivotally attached to said rocker armand said heel holder, and a trigger member mounted between the rockerarm and release bar and positioned so as to hold the free end of saidrocker arm in raised position until a pull is exerted against saidtrigger member.

7. The safety ski binding of claim 6 in which the heel holder is aU-shaped member adapted to fit around the heel of a ski boot.

8. A safety ski binding comprising a ski, a toe plate mounted thereonand having a recessed portion to receive the toe of a ski boot, atrigger release clamp mounted on the front portion of ski and comprisinga forwardly extending lever, a trigger member pivotally connectedthereto, and a stationary catch to receive and hold the trigger memberuntil a pull is exerted against it, a spring cable adapted to extendfrom the trigger release clamp around the heel of a ski boot andattached at its forward end to the lever of said trigger release clampso that a force exerted by the spring cable will always be above thebase of the lever, and a release cable for attachment between thetrigger member of the trigger release clamp and a skiers ankle.

MYRON T. FLEMIING.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 2,176,226 Reed, Jr. Oct. 17, 1939 2,396,373 Henrichsen Mar.12, 1946 2,491,485 Durham Dec. 29, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number CountryDate 206,751 Switzerland Dec. 1, 1939

